Dancing in the Rain by Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Someone posted the following on Facebook, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.  It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” 

In the midst of the deepest storms of our lives, often the most comfort and peace arise from the joy that emerges in remembering the good times, the times of building relationships, of filling our arms and our hearts with new life, of recognizing the artistry of our Creator in the sunrise, the gathering clouds, and the changing of the seasons.  The rain of sorrow is lessened in the moments of sunshine that peep through.  In those moments, even though our hearts are breaking, our spirits dance in the rhythm with the joy of our Lord.

He is Lord in the valleys as well as on the mountain tops.  He dances with us in the slow, intimate waltz that comforts and heals.  It is in the “slow dance” that we fall in love.  It is in the “fast dance” that we celebrate that love. 

We are the Bride of Christ.  In our dance with him, the Bridegroom leads and we, the Bride, must learn to follow His every movement.   As we dance, our intimacy grows and our broken hearts find His healing and His joy.  In His joy, we find our strength to continue. (Nehemiah 8:10)

The Bible speaks much about dancing in celebration of our Lord:  Psalm 149:2-3 (NKJV)

“²  Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. ³  Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.”

Psalm 150:4 (NKJV):  “⁴  Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!”

Because of the vicissitudes of life, we experience all the times Solomon beautifully described in Ecclesiastes 3.  When we allow Him to, God brings us through those seasons of life.  While we experience seasons of weeping, we are to experience also seasons of laughter.  When we follow our Lord in the dance, a time of mourning will lead into times of dancing, both the dance of intimacy and the dance of celebration.

From my play Dancing in the Cosmos:

“CHORUS ONE: Truth Seeker took the hand of Eternal Hope and moved with Him to the music of the worshipers.  The sensation in her heart found fulfillment in the dance of her Beloved. She moved with Him across the valleys and above the mountain tops. 

CHORUS TWO:  The music became the music of the galaxies.  The stars sang with them as they danced within the Milky Way, out beyond the evening star, beyond the Pleiades and the might hunter, Orion.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Eternal Hope, are there pathways and journeys beyond this one? Will there be other rivers to cross? Others to whom I will be vessel of Your love?  Will there be other dances?

ETERNAL HOPE:  Yes, My seeker of truth, there will be other journeys and other rivers.  Each one you overcome will bring you higher and deeper into Me.  Your destiny, and the destiny of all others, is to climb higher and higher, to cross over and over, to find greater and greater Joy, to come to know Me even as I know you.

TRUTH SEEKER:    How many journeys?  How many conquests?  For how long?

ETERNAL HOPE:  As many as will fit into eternity.  Are you willing still to journey with Me?”

We receive comfort and healing in the knowledge that as the storm continues, so does the dance. In spite of our tears, we can choose to dance in the rain.